Chess players face off at Maple Community Center

More than a hundred chess players, ranging in age from kindergarten to 12th graders, faced off at the American Chess Academy Holiday Championship Sunday at the Maple Community Center in Glendale.

Armen Ambarsoumian, president of the academy, said the tournament “is one of the largest in Southern California and is helping to put Glendale on the map in the chess world.”

Ambarsoumian said 133 players from San Diego to Bakersfield showed up to the event, which he called a huge success. He said his organization plans to have another tournament on Feb. 17, also at Maple Community Center.